Umbrella



' Oct. l1, 1938. F. ROSENBERG ET Al. 2,132,648

UMBRELLA Filed March 29, 1957 I ,It 6. i BY 7@ 9 ATTORN Patented Oct. 11, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT vori-Ieri UMBRELLA Fritz Rosenberg, Brooklyn, N. Y., and Wayne S. Evans and John Lutz, Philadelphia, Pa.; said Evans and Lutz assignors to said v4Rosenberg Application March 29, 1937, Serial No. 133,720 7 claims. (o1. 1st-29) The object of thisinvention is to provide im# provements in umbrellas broadly, but more parthe usual cover), with the result that one'side alone can ex without materially disturbing the opposite side, as when a light wind strikes the umbrella from an angle, instead of from directly beneath.

Still another object is to provide in one formof the improved frame a sectional stretcher, connecting the usual sleeve, which is slidable upon the shaft, to a given rib, and resilient means automatically tending to maintain a predetermined relationship between such stretcher and rib, whereby when the umbrella is in extended position the stretcher imposes its frame-expanding force directly uponlthe rib, but is adapted in emergencies to have its effective length extended suicient to permit such rib to oscillate into a reversed position.

A further object is to provide the resilient means in` such a structure in the form of a preferably spiral spring, located at the pivotal connection between the rib and the adjacent stretcher section or link, although such resilient means in the V saine or different form may be located at the pivyotal` connection between the stretcher sections themselves, or possiblyelsewhere as may be feaL v sible and desired.

And a still further object is to provide a modiiied form of umbrella frame in which a suitable sliding connection is interposed between a singlesection stretcher and the rib, so as to permit the rib to oscillate into reversed position, as hereinafter described. v

With the objects of the invention thus brieiiy stated, the invention comprises further details of construction and operation, which are fully brought outin the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, 5o in which Fig. l is a side elevationof an umbrella, the top thereof, when in reversed position, being indicated by dot-and-dash lines; Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed side elevational View of the major portion of one of the ribs of said umbrella, to-

gether with the adjacent portions of the improved sectional stretcher, said stretcher being shown in normal operative position in full lines, and in inoperative position in dotand-dash lines; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan-View of said rib, together with the adjacent link section of the stretcher in 5 normal operative position; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal central section, the same showing the link section oi said stretcher attached to the adjacent portion of the main section of same; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation o1" a rib and the ad- 1.0.

jacent portion of a stretcher, comprising a modiiied form of the invention'Figs. 6 and '7 are sec tions on the lines 6-6 and 'l-l respectively of Fig. 5.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing, 15.

an umbrella is shown as comprising a shaft l, upon which isy mounted in the usual manner a flexible cover 2, supported by radially extending, angularly spaced ribs 3, which in this instance are of the usual U-shaped cross section and are 20 provided at their inner ends with apertures 4 for the reception of suitable means for hingedly attaching them to said shaft.

Each oi said ribs is provided at an intermediate point with a xedly positioned lug 5, having spaced ears 6, to'which is attached by suitable pivot pin 'l a relatively short stretcher section .8, the free end portion 9 of which is adapted to enter within the concave side of the rib 3 and normally cooperate therewith in positive contact. 30."

To a suitable intermediate portion of said link section is pivotally secured, by means of a pin i, the outer free end portion of the main stretcher section Il, the opposite or inner end of said main stretcher section being pivotally secured 35 tothe usual sleeve (not shown), which customarily slides upon the shaft l. It will also be noted that a coil spring l2 surrounds the pin l and comprises oppositely extending terminal portions I3 and ifi, which respectively cooperate directly with the inner concave surface ofthe rib 3 and the link section 8 of said stretcher, for the purpose of maintaining said stretcher section in the operative position herein described Vand illusn trailed. 4:5 In the operation of an umbrella constructed in accordance with this invention, the several ribs are raised into their extended positions, as shownv in Fig. 1 and as indicated also in Fig. 2, wherein the main stretcher section Il presses directly outwardly and upwardly against the corresponding rib by virtue of the intervening free end portion 9 of the link section 8, an-d the direct cooperation thereof with said rib. However, when a gust of Wind, or other unusual force, re- 55 verses the position of the ribs and cover, either partially or entirely so, as indicated by the dotand-dash lines l5, the effective length of each stretcher is increased for'as the rib moves upwardly in the direction of the arrow I6, the stretcher pivot l0 moves in an arc, as in-dicated by the arrows H, so that said stretcher sections pass through intermediate position, as indicated by the dot-and-dash position I8, until they reach the dot-and-dash position I9, which by design is suilicient to permit a full reversal of the umbrella frame, as mentioned, thereafter pulling simultaneously downwardly upon the several main rib sections Il, through the medium of the usual sleeve surrounding the shaft l, which operates to pull the several ribs back into normal extended position, and as they pass a plane perpendicular to said shaft at the pivotal mountings 4, the tension upon said stretcher sections is immediately relieved, whereupon the spring l2 operates to force the adjacent stretcher link section into the normal operative position, hereinbefore described, which position is retained, even as the umbrella frame is lowered or collapsed in the usual manner bysliding downwardly the shaft-surrounding sleeve, to which the inner ends of said stretcher sections are pivotally connected. A frame of this type provides a construction Vin which each rib unit is flexible an-d reversible, independently of the other units (except as they are connected together by the usual cover), with the result that one side alone can flex without materially disturbing the opposite side, as when a light wind strikes the umbrella from an angle, instead of from directly beneath.

Referring to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, there is here shown a rib 2G, upon which is slidably mounted a lug 2l having spaced ears 22, to which is pivotally secured at 23 a single-section stretcher 24. In this case, asY an unusual force tends to partially or wholly reverse the umbrella frame, the lug 2l slides along said rib into the dot-and-dash position indicated at 25, the two extreme positions of said lug being limited by stops 26 and 2T, suitably secured to said rib. Otherwise the opera tion of this modified form of the device provides for an operation of the umbrella frame as a whole in a manner similar to that hereinbefore described.

Having thus described our invention, what we Y claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:-

1. An umbrella frame, comprising a rib and a stretcher, said stretcher in turn comprising a main section and a link section, pivotally connected to said main section and to said rib, the outward thrust upon said stretcher operating to normally maintain said link section substantially parallel with said rib and the outward thrust of said stretcher in effect directly against said rib.

2. An umbrella frame, comprising a rib, a

stretcher, said stretcher in turn comprising a main section and a link section, pivotally connected to said main section an-d to said rib, and resilient means to normally maintain said link section in proximity to, and said main section in substantially direct contact with, said rib.

3. An umbrella frame, comprising a rib, and a sectional stretcher, said stretcher in turn comprising a main section and a link section, said link section being pivotally connected at one end to said rib, and pivotally connected also to said vmain section, beyond which last-named connection said link section freely extends` in a projection, said projection in one position contacting with a portion of said rib spaced from said rst connection,.to transmit force from said main section substantially directly to said rib.

4. An umbrella* frame, comprising a rib, a sectional stretcher, said stretcher in turn comprising a main section and a link section, said link section being pivotally connected at one end to said rib, and pivotally connected also to said main section, beyond which last-named connection said link section freely extends, and is adapted in one position to contact with a portion of said rib spaced from said rst connection, to transmitforce from said main section substantially directly to said rib, and resilient means to normally maintain the link section of said stretcher closely adjacent to said rib.

5. An umbrella frame, comprising a shaft, aY

rib pivotally connected to said shaft, a sectional stretcher in turn comprising a main section, at one end pivotally connected to and in slidable engagement with said shaft, and a link section pivotally connected to the opposite end portion of said main section and also to said rib, and resilient means to normally maintain said sections out of alignment, and said link section in close proximity to said main section.

6. An umbrella frame, comprising a shaft, a rib pivotally connected to said shaft, a sectional stretcher in turn comprising a main section, at one end pivotally connected to and. in slidable engagement with said shaft, and a link section pivotally connected to the opposite end portion of said main section and alsoV to said rib, and resilient means to normally maintain said sections out of alignment, and said link section in close proximity to said main section, but operative to permit said rib to oscillate into reversed position with respect to said shaft by increasing the effective length of said stretcher.

'1. An umbrella frame, comprising a rib and a sectional stretcher, connected to said rib and operative to permit Ysaid rib to assume a reversed position, and also operative to return said rib 'from reversed to normal operative position.

FRITZ ROSENBERG. WAYNE S. EVANS. JOHN LUTZ. 

